Green Ground Pork Stir Fry

Just when I thought all the good stir fry recipes had been discovered, bam! a new one appears. One like no previous stir fry before. One with the simplest of sauce ingredients. One using ground pork instead of the traditional beef or chicken. Spicy Ground Pork and Zucchini Stir Fry was going to be a success, I could just tell. It was gut feeling!

Modifications Made:

Sauce: soy sauce was increased to four tablespoons instead of three, sambal oelek was decreased to two teaspoons. To the sauce the following were added and allowed to soak in the soy mixture while dish was prepared: a half can of water chestnuts, half can of bamboo shoots, and one bunch of thinly sliced green onions.

Stir Fry: pork was cooked as instructed (minus the addition of salt) developing a nice dark caramelized coloring to the chunks. Zucchini measured at just over a cup, diced. To compensate for zucchini a half bag of edamame was added.

Scaled for Likability: Great

Not once to my recollection have I ever seen ground pork in a stir fry. The table counterparts were leery but seconds were served all around. The meat was a little dry (attempts to secure browning might have resulted in over cooking) but when added to the soy mixture became moist and tasty. The water chestnuts and edamame added a great crunch texture to the soft zucchini and tender pork.

This dish would have been just as wonderful if it was served without zucchini or edamame. The pork was amazing in both flavor and texture. Next time I want a veggie free dinner I am gonna make this and increase the sauce to cover the rice. Delish.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green be

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Eating Waffles

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